Add floppy drive on new build ?

RandyGJul 4, 2010, 1:07 PM

Getting ready to start a new build (noob) stripped the old case down,saved the floppy drive & panel switches,led's & speaker for bread boarding (good idea,breadboard first ?) This is the Mobo I'll be using http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3287&dl=1#dl OS will be W7. Should I install the old floppy drive also as I think I may like to backup the bios, or can this be done on say a USB drive ?

Almost everything that can be done with a floppy, can also be done with a USB stick - but with more difficulty, added steps, and the ever-present possibility of getting a simply incompatible USB device. Might want to read the Floppy Drives section of the 'sticky', a bit past half-way down...

To test the drive: insert a floppy, and right-click the drive in My Computer; select 'format', uncheck 'Quick Format', and it should test itself as it formats (can, however, also be 'sent awry' by a bad disk...)

To make a bootable BIOS flasher: insert a floppy, and right-click the drive in My Computer; select 'format', and check "Create an MS-DOS startup disk'; when finished, double-click to open the disk, and erase everything but: COMMAND.COM, IO.SYS, and MSDOS.SYS (you'll need the room). (...oops - dawns on me - in the 'View' tab of 'Folder Options' in the Control Panel, you will need to have selected 'Show hidden files, folders and drives', and unchecked 'Hide protected operating system files', to even be able to see these files...)

Download your BIOS here... Place the downloaded file, 'motherboard_bios_ga-p55m-ud2_f11.exe' somewhere you can 'keep track of it'. Double-click on it, and it will 'self-extract' to three files:autoexec.batp55mud2.f11 (the actual BIOS)&FLASHSPI.EXE...

Copy these three files to the previously created 'boot floppy', change your BIOS boot order to put the floppy before the hard drive, and you should be ready to boot/flash!

...all the autoexec.bat file, which runs automatically when the floppy is booted, contains is one line:flashspi p55mud2.f11this 'launches' the BIOS flasher, and tells it what BIOS file to flash - all there is to it!

To test the drive: insert a floppy, and right-click the drive in My Computer; select 'format', uncheck 'Quick Format', and it should test itself as it formats (can, however, also be 'sent awry' by a bad disk...)

To make a bootable BIOS flasher: insert a floppy, and right-click the drive in My Computer; select 'format', and check "Create an MS-DOS startup disk'; when finished, double-click to open the disk, and erase everything but: COMMAND.COM, IO.SYS, and MSDOS.SYS (you'll need the room). (...oops - dawns on me - in the 'View' tab of 'Folder Options' in the Control Panel, you will need to have selected 'Show hidden files, folders and drives', and unchecked 'Hide protected operating system files', to even be able to see these files...)

Download your BIOS here... Place the downloaded file, 'motherboard_bios_ga-p55m-ud2_f11.exe' somewhere you can 'keep track of it'. Double-click on it, and it will 'self-extract' to three files:autoexec.batp55mud2.f11 (the actual BIOS)&FLASHSPI.EXE...

Copy these three files to the previously created 'boot floppy', change your BIOS boot order to put the floppy before the hard drive, and you should be ready to boot/flash!

...all the autoexec.bat file, which runs automatically when the floppy is booted, contains is one line:flashspi p55mud2.f11this 'launches' the BIOS flasher, and tells it what BIOS file to flash - all there is to it!

To test the drive: insert a floppy, and right-click the drive in My Computer; select 'format', uncheck 'Quick Format', and it should test itself as it formats (can, however, also be 'sent awry' by a bad disk...)

To make a bootable BIOS flasher: insert a floppy, and right-click the drive in My Computer; select 'format', and check "Create an MS-DOS startup disk'; when finished, double-click to open the disk, and erase everything but: COMMAND.COM, IO.SYS, and MSDOS.SYS (you'll need the room). (...oops - dawns on me - in the 'View' tab of 'Folder Options' in the Control Panel, you will need to have selected 'Show hidden files, folders and drives', and unchecked 'Hide protected operating system files', to even be able to see these files...)

Download your BIOS here... Place the downloaded file, 'motherboard_bios_ga-p55m-ud2_f11.exe' somewhere you can 'keep track of it'. Double-click on it, and it will 'self-extract' to three files:autoexec.batp55mud2.f11 (the actual BIOS)&FLASHSPI.EXE...

Copy these three files to the previously created 'boot floppy', change your BIOS boot order to put the floppy before the hard drive, and you should be ready to boot/flash!

...all the autoexec.bat file, which runs automatically when the floppy is booted, contains is one line:flashspi p55mud2.f11this 'launches' the BIOS flasher, and tells it what BIOS file to flash - all there is to it!

Nope - the drivers are best taken from the CD that shipped with your board. There sometimes are newer drivers available on GB's website, but I always maintain you are better off installing from the CD, as the installer is 'sequenced'. Some drivers must be installed, before the hardware for others can be 'seen', by both the board and the OS - for example, the chipset drivers have to be inbefore the LAN chip drivers can be installed, as (if you look at the block diagram on page eight of your manual) the LAN chip is 'attached' to the PCIe bus, which is a feature of the chipset... Once you have installed the OS, and done the 'sequenced' install of the basic driver set, the OS' update feature will take care of the rest - it will install any newer drivers it considers 'necessary', and you are then free to install any others that you'd like - I am in the habit of installing all the RealTek drivers directly from RealTek, and never use the GBs...

Nope - the drivers are best taken from the CD that shipped with your board. There sometimes are newer drivers available on GB's website, but I always maintain you are better off installing from the CD, as the installer is 'sequenced'. Some drivers must be installed, before the hardware for others can be 'seen', by both the board and the OS - for example, the chipset drivers have to be inbefore the LAN chip drivers can be installed, as (if you look at the block diagram on page eight of your manual) the LAN chip is 'attached' to the PCIe bus, which is a feature of the chipset... Once you have installed the OS, and done the 'sequenced' install of the basic driver set, the OS' update feature will take care of the rest - it will install any newer drivers it considers 'necessary', and you are then free to install any others that you'd like - I am in the habit of installing all the RealTek drivers directly from RealTek, and never use the GBs...

Thanks again bilbat ! The RealTek driver was my concern as I will be using onboard sound . Have a GREAT 4th and again thanks for all your help !